The Clancy News Groups
alt.books.tom-clancy (aka abtc)
This is the busiest of the two groups that I subscribe to. At the release of a new novel the number of posts
can at times be astronoical, although posting level is moderate to high throughout the year. The number of off topic
discussions between books is usually quite high. The topics are usually quite interesting, and good for broadening the mind.
The group expects all members to stick to net Netiquette, and this is a good thing. The language is perfect for readers of all ages, with very little bad language / crudity.
The group is fairly tolerant of Newbies - but before making a post I would advise that you " lurk " for a couple of weeks and read the groups FAQ. This is maintained by Steve Cosby, and is one of the better ones around. The address is at the bottom of this page.
The biggest plus to this group is that Tom Clancy on occasions actually makes posts. This hadn't happened in a while until just recently. If you are really lucky then Tom may write to you personally with regard to a post. Be warned don't expect Tom to answer basic questions about himself. The information may be in the FAQ or may not have been released. Tom certainly keeps his public and private life in separate boxes.
The group has recently been subject to a large amount of anti Semetic spam, and masses of it. Thankfully this is reasonably rare, and abtc was not the only group affected. Spammers have a short life when contacting this group.
Summary
If you like Clancy, and are interested in related topics regarding military, weapons etc then this is the group for you, and can be recommended to parties of all ages. Even some of the off topic discussions can be very interesting. This newsgroup is more of a small community, with several regular and consistant posters. Enjoy.
The FAQ can be found at http://www.cosbyassoc.com/clancyfaq/.
alt.fan.tom-clancy
This is a very quiet newsgroup. In the last month I've had six postings, 4 of which were spam!
The postings that appear in this newsgroup tend to be crossposts. There is very very little content which does not appear in ABTC.
As one poster noted "this group has died". Obviously we are between books so postings will be down.
I'm not aware of a FAQ for this group.
Summary
Not worth bothering to log onto this group.
The contents of these pages represent my own views and not necessarily those of my ISP
